Bear Attack!

[canadianmedic]

Hey all!

This morning I darn near had a stroke!
I'm walking outside to open the chicken coop for the day and I notice 2 hens walking around the yard??!!? As I close in on the front door I notice that it's been shredded!! Claw marks everywhere, lumber pulled down and the door broken!!

Here's the interesting part...all hens were accounted for! Not one missing!?!?
I know it was a bear by the claw marks, foot prints and the massive dump he/she took in the yard.

2 questions here...
1- why wasn't there a massacre?
2- was the bear just going for the feed? And do they eat chickens?

We do throw our older bread and leftovers to the chickens before bed...could the bear have smelled that?!?

We live very rural and see the odd bear but have had no issues.

Anyone with info on this, please help!

Thanks so much!!!

 

[Folly's place]

Sounds like you need serious electric fencing, the only thing if you have bears. She will keep coming back, not a good situation close to your house. Start feeding leftovers in the morning, and get fencing before she invites herself into your house too! Have you called your wildlife people? Animal Control? See if they will help. Mary

 

[BlessedCountry6]

I don't know if they will each chickens but they will go for the easiest food. Glad all your chickens are ok. I agree with Folly's Place. You need to do some serious protection. I am more worried about people at your house. No one wants to walk up on a hungry bear!

 

[torilovessmiles]

Bears are scary, and it definitely sounds like he was after the feed! Bears are lazy and will go for the easiest food source possible. If the feed/scraps wasn't readily available, he may have grabbed one of your chickens! I agree that an electric poultry fence would be a good investment, and some people like to use livestock guardian animals as well (certain dog breeds and donkeys are often used) but that's not always an option.

If it continues to hang around, definitely call animal control. Wildlife services may come and trap the bear, then relocate it to a more suitable area. Luckily, they usually take it pretty serious with large animals that aren't afraid of humans!
Wildlife is part of living out in the country but when they are practically on your back porch, it's scary as heck!

 

[canadianmedic]

Hi all! It's 1030 pm here and she just struck again!! This time I saw her! Looks like a yearling black bear! By the time we got the gun she was gone. And some of you are right! She's after the chicken feed!!! She took a crap and it was all the feed she ate last night!!! The feed bin was open and it's all gone! But again, the chickens are okay...the bear was NOT after the flock for sure because she could have easily taken a few out.
We are going to borrow our friends dog and I'm looking at getting some electric fence for sure! This bear knows there's food here and you are all right, she's lazy and will keep coming back! We have a 2 year old who plays in the backyard, and now I'm super worried.
It's been night 'attacks' lately, but last thing I want is to hage a bear go rogue and get in the back yard when he's playing in the sandbox.

Another thing. The backyard where the coop is is fenced off completely. The bear tore through the fence on the way in, and knocked down another part of the fence on the way out!
Totally destructive animals, and again it beat the heck out of the coop door.

I'm so mad right now!!! Country living comes at a price sometimes, but not dangerous predators!! Will look into everything you've all suggested!! Thank you so much for the feedback!!!

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Hi all! It's 1030 pm here and she just struck again!! This time I saw her! Looks like a yearling black bear! By the time we got the gun she was gone. And some of you are right! She's after the chicken feed!!! She took a crap and it was all the feed she ate last night!!! The feed bin was open and it's all gone! But again, the chickens are okay...the bear was NOT after the flock for sure because she could have easily taken a few out......

In the wild, bears eat whatever it is that they chose to eat.

Chicken feed, chickens, or chicken keepers are all on the menu.

Black bears kill about as many humans now as grizzly/brown bears do. However black bears seem more interested in actually stalking, attacking, killing, and eating humans than their grizzly bear cousins do.

The young hiker in New Jersey who was killed and eaten recently is just one of the latest examples.

 

[123RedBeard]

BAD BEAR!

 

[canadianmedic]

It's going to get a 303 slug in it tonite!
@ chickengeorgeto, black bears up here don't attack humans much at all. They are skittish beggars. More scavengers and night poachers mostly.
I'd have to respectfully disagree with you that they stalk and kill humans. I just don't see that.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

It's going to get a 303 slug in it tonite!
@ chickengeorgeto, black bears up here don't attack humans much at all. They are skittish beggars. More scavengers and night poachers mostly.
I'd have to respectfully disagree with you that they stalk and kill humans. I just don't see that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_bear_attacks_in_North_America#2000s

80% of the 5 fetal wild black bear attacks in North America since 2010 has been predatory in nature. I suspect that if the one attack where the victim died in hospital before feeding could began was also a predatory attack. That would make it 5 out of 5. I also believe that any time a black bear breaks out a picture window to kill a 93 year old woman in her living room we're looking at a predatory black bear attack.

The one theme that is universal on this forum is that predators are opportunist feeders.

In other words if a black bear has the opportunity he or she will eat you regardless if it has any wild mushroom and red wine sauce to help the meal go down..

 

[adkhunter1590]

Actually Black bears are known to stalk humans for a good distance before becoming bored...I was a hunting guide in many western and eastern states and I can tell you from experience that black bears are much more dangerous in general than grizzlies...they are also harder to escape than a grizz...no climbing trees to get away from a black bear!

I actually had a black bear encounter as a young boy that almost turned into a very bad day for me...I had been riding my dirt bike in the woods behind my parents house...I was about 11 years old I believe...I crashed into a tree and messed up the bike, but my leg was badly bruised and I was in rough shape so I left the bike and walked home. After a trip to the ER to check for broken bones I came home and was told by my dad to start walking back to my bike and he was on his way home and would meet me out there to help push it back...well after getting to my bike I realized I had really did some damage and couldnt get the bike to move...I sat and waited for my dad who came running up the trail to me in a full sprint carrying his hunting rifle...he told me on his way down the trail a black bear charged him and he ran back to the house to get his gun....not knowing where the bear was since he last saw it we began about a mile hike/push back to the house....dad pushed the bike I held the gun and was given clear orders to shoot to kill upon sighting that bear...about 1/4 the back I saw the bear in the distance in the woods off the trail...unable to get a clear shot we decided to keep moving but keep a close eye on the bear who now appeared to be "stalking" us from about 125 yards away. That bear followed us for the next half mile...keeping to our right off the trail but was gaining ground on us slowly. About 3/4 of the way back the bear decided it had waited enough and began running at us from about 50 yards away...it made the mistake of running into a clearing to get to us...I pulled that 30.06 up and fired a shot into its chest as it ran full speed at us...the bear dropped but tried to keep going...bam..one more shot into its vital area and it was finished....without that rifle I dont know what would have happened to us but I would imagine it wouldnt of been pretty...That gun saved my fathers life and mine...I still have that rifle and think about the time I shot that bear almost every time I hold it